2 killed when lightning hits Ariz. scenic overlook

FREDONIA, Ariz. (AP) — A married couple was killed and a teenage boy injured when lightning struck near a scenic overlook in northern Arizona, authorities said Wednesday.

Coconino County sheriff’s officials said the names of the couple were being withheld until relatives could be notified. The man and woman lived outside the United States, but their hometowns and ages weren’t immediately available.

Authorities said at least one of the victims may have been directly hit by a lightning bolt that struck about 3 p.m. Tuesday in the area of the LeFevre Scenic Outlook on state Route 89A, some 8 miles north of Jacobs Lake.

Sheriff’s officials released a photo of the scene that showed a broken rock on the wall of the overlook. They said it’s believed the couple was standing on the rock seat beneath the wall when the lightning bolt struck.

The man and woman were in a group of people at the overlook and they were pronounced dead at the scene, sheriff’s spokesman Gerry Blair said.

The bodies were taken to the county medical examiner’s office for autopsies, according to Blair.

He said the teenage boy was “either 13 or 14″ and not related to the victims, although his name and hometown weren’t immediately clear.

Blair said the boy was treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries.